The Night of the Hunter
Extract Two " John’s Story " (0h10 à 0h11)
Choix et Objectifs
 | une des scènes les plus célèbres de l'histoire du cinéma |
| permet d'introduire le thème du conte de fée dans le déroulement de l'histoire |
| champ lexical de la peur et de la surprise |
| objectif grammatical: le comparatif et la comparaison (look like, as if..) |
1-First still : A long shot
Description : a well-lit house, at night. A lamp-post, or streetlight in the right hand corner, a fence in the foreground.
Interpretation : a one-storey house, a wooden house : a family lives there. The triangular window upstairs must be a bedroom.The children must be going to bed. It’s bed-time, or story time. A fairy tale starts with " Once upon a time ….. "
The scene conveys a peaceful, quiet, cosy, secure atmosphere, which is obviously going to be disturbed.
2-Viewing until John’s line : " Tell me a story, John "
Descripton :
the boy, John, who is the elder brother and his little sister, Pearl, are upstairs, in their bedroom. They are about to go to bed. The little girl wants her brother to tell her a bed-time story with princes, princesses, fairies. This is usually a mother or father's job, but we know they are fatherless.
3-Viewing until John’s line : " The bad men came back.. "
Description : John tells his sister a story about a rich king in Africa.Pearl enjoys the story because she’s smiling.
Interpretation : John’s story takes place in Africa because the shadows on the wall reminds him of palm trees or the jungle. The king stands for the children’s father, who stole $10,000 ("a rich king"), and was arrested then taken away by the police ("got taken away by some bad men").John may be in danger now ("the bad men came back…."). He himself fears he might be in danger.
We can’t see John clearly, although he is in the room. We see him as if he were outside the room, as if we saw him through the wall, as if he were himself in the story, in a dream…
4-The preacher’s shadow and Pearl’s reaction :
Description : a medium shot
Suddenly, a giant, huge, spectacular shadow appears on the wall and fills up the screen. It looks like a tall man, wearing a hat.
Interpretation : (shot and music) It is frightening, surprising, scary for both the audience and the children
Description : a close shot
Pearl points at the wall because she has spotted the shadow. She is so scared, stunned that she can’t speak, she is speechless.
Interpretation : The " shadow " can’t be the children’s father because he is too frightening. He must be a bad, evil, nasty man or a burglar. He may hurt or harm the children. The spectator now worries about the children.
5-Viewing until the end :
Description : A
high angle shotLooking out of the window, John sees a man dressed all in black, standing by the streetlight in front of their house. He goes to bed and wishes Pearl goodnight. They fall asleep.
Interpretation : the " shadow " is " just a man ", according to John.
He is a harmless passer-by. He is not as dangerous, frightening as Pearl (or we) thought. He is not as tall as he looked. He looks much smaller in the street.
The children are relieved, they needn’t worry ! They can go to bed and sleep safe and sound, they won't let "the bad bugs bite"
The song the mysterious man sings sounds like a familiar and reassuring lullaby. Actually it is a hymn.
Follow up work
| Complete the script |
JOHN’S STORY
JOHN’S STORY
| Correct all mistakes made by John in his tale |
| To which extent is this tale typical of any bedtime story? Justify with precise elements |
| The lyrics of the hymn are in complete contradiction with the children's situation: explain why |
LEANING
Leanin’, leanin’,Safe and secure from all alarm,
Leanin’, leanin’,
Leanin’ on the everlasting arm.
What a fellowship,
What a peace of mind,
Leaning on the everlasting arm,
What a blessedness,
What a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arm.
Leaning on Jesus,
Leaning on Jesus, leaning on the everlasting arm.
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